


Heart of the Trouble

by thisbluespirit



Category: Doctor Who (1963), Sapphire and Steel
Genre: Bruises, Community: hc_bingo, Crossover, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Robots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 08:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14445105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisbluespirit/pseuds/thisbluespirit
Summary: Liz finds herself caught in a trap meant to snare an Element...





	Heart of the Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the hc_bingo Amnesty April challenge, to write a crossover based on any one or more (or all) of four prompts: heart attack/heart trouble, food poisoning, interrogation, robots/androids/AI. This one matches three out of the four (heart trouble, interrogation & robots), with a brief reference to something that might count as a very free interpretation of 'food poisoning'.
> 
> With thanks to Persiflage who suggested that I should use the prompts to write Silver/Liz - so, I did.

The robot had long arms, Liz could testify to that. When she’d refused to answer any more of its continual questions, it had struck her without moving from its position a yard away. She’d have been impressed if it hadn’t hurt so much.

Liz put her hand up to her cheek, now bruised and bleeding, and glared back at it. The infernal thing was only a machine, she reminded herself. It was pointless to waste her anger on it. It didn’t care; it only wanted to complete its program. Sometimes she could understand why the Doctor got so testy about computers. She wondered how many artificial intelligences like this had questioned him over the years. She suspected the answer would be rather a lot, to put it in technical terms.

“Where is the specimen?”

Liz shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve told you – I was working on my own here. You can check any of the records and search the place all you like.” That much was true; Liz’s current errant companion was about as unofficial as it got. She doubted he’d ever featured in anyone’s database – at least until this lot had suddenly got wind of him and his kind.

“The specimen has unique sub-temporal capabilities. We have confirmed that you have been in close proximity to the specimen. Where is it?”

“I don’t know,” said Liz. “Would you like me to spell that out for you? I came here to work for UNIT. They sent me down to talk to Professor Stalybridge, but when I got to his lab he was nowhere to be found. I was looking for him before I went back to HQ and reported a wasted drive to Devon when you lot turned up. I take it you were responsible what happened to the Professor?”

“The human male specimen was of no further value. We disposed of him. But where is the other?”

 _Of no value._ Liz forgot her resolution not to waste anger on mere machines. Damn them and their ideas of what was and wasn’t valuable. Stalybridge was not only a human being, he was an expert in the field of meteorology – worse luck for him, as it had turned out. No doubt most of the anomalies that he’d noted were due to this bunch of alien robots landing and trying to lure in a far rarer being than a mere human for their collection – something probably even stranger than the Doctor. Liz didn’t so much as have a name for what Silver and his kind were, and anything that passed for an explanation from Silver was rarely very enlightening. She took courage from the fact that these robots clearly hadn’t yet managed to capture said mysterious and infuriating ginger-haired specialist in Time, metal and God-knows-what. She just hoped that Silver wouldn’t go off without her. You never really knew with Silver, that was all she _did_ know for certain.

 

The robots finished with Liz, temporarily at least, and dumped her back in the stone out-house attached to Professor Stalybridge’s Dartmoor home. It had once been a farm and, as Liz knew from the winding drive there, it was miles away from even the nearest hamlet, let alone what she called civilisation. Still, it felt better to be out of the alien space craft. The air was fresher and there was no persistent electrical hum running through her head – and no metal aliens firing questions at her. She swallowed and began to take in her own catalogue of cuts and bruises. She winced. “Damn!” she said.

“Liz,” said a voice from one side of her, as Silver moved silently across – or perhaps he simply appeared there. He took in her state and his face darkened. “I take it _they_ did that?”

She shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve been bullied by aliens. And unless I resign from UNIT, I don’t suppose it’ll be the last, either. Can’t you shut them down? I thought robots were your sort of thing.”

Silver glanced around the entirely low-tech room. “Of course they are. But these aren’t part of the problem I was sent to fix. They turned up to trap one of us – in this case, _me_!” He voice rose in indignation. “Even if I could do something about them right now, it might only worsen the real trouble here. I’d need Sapphire or Jet to be certain. _I_ can’t do it. This sort of thing is why technicians aren’t supposed to be sent out alone.”

“But whatever damage removing them might do, it can’t surely be worse than letting them capture you, can it? Would they stop with you or would they want the full set? And presumably once they do get you, I’ll be disposed of. They’ve already got plenty of human specimens – I don’t image they’d think I was of any more value to them than poor old Stalybridge!” 

Silver straightened his tie and examined the cuffs of his suit for specks of dust or dirt. Eventually, he said, “My first responsibility is to see that the breach to Time is sealed. What happens to me is certainly not immaterial, but as Steel would no doubt remind me, it is a secondary matter.”

“Me, too?”

He shook his head. “No, not you. I’ve met you before – I know you mustn’t be removed, and certainly not yet. But even if I could get away from here, I can’t leave without removing their data concerning us. I don’t know how or where they found it, but if they go round getting in our way like this, the outcome could be catastrophic.”

“So, I take it you _haven’t_ worked out how to escape the energy field?” said Liz. “I was hoping you might have done.”

“No,” he said, perching on an old battered chest of drawers. “It’s too effective and it’s limiting my abilities. That’s the main trouble. The only consolation is that they clearly aren’t sure they’ve netted me, or they would have narrowed down its circle of influence to smoke me out. Currently, they’re still trying to widen it.”

Liz took this in. It meant, she thought, that if they were going to stop the robots and get out of this alive and with the timeline intact, they had better act soon, before the robots changed tactics.

“They chose this breach, this place, very carefully,” said Silver, his mouth twisting a little around the words. “A minor matter – a technical fault, if you like – and so only a technician was required. As I said, they know more than they ought.”

Liz merely nodded. She had learned by now that Silver’s pronouncements on Time and the work that he and his colleagues did made little sense by any human standards, and while she’d normally have liked to press him further on it, this was hardly the moment. “Are you all right now, though?”

They’d tried to leave the farm earlier, but Silver had collapsed, ruining their attempted escape and startling Liz, who hadn’t know that he _could_ be hurt until then.

Silver said nothing.

“I take it that’s a no, then,” said Liz. Half in concern, half out of curiosity, she asked, “What did they _do_ to you? How?”

“It’s the energy field,” said Silver. “It has a rather unpleasant effect. Disrupting my – my presence here – my functionality.” He gave her a smile. “If you like, it’s my heart.”

Liz raised an eyebrow. “You mean you have one?”

“Well, let’s say I have a core – a central organ that keeps me functioning.” He pressed his hand to his chest, and looked at her. “In the other sense – doesn’t everyone? One way or another.”

Liz gave a grin. It hurt, but she ignored that. “I never take anything for granted with you. Just tell me – is it getting worse, or about the same?”

“It may be getting worse,” said Silver, with an unwillingness to admit to any flaw in his design. “As long as they keep widening the field, the effects are bearable – for the time being.”

“Then first, we need to get it turned off – and then let you get at their computers.”

Silver drew back, instantly impatient. “Yes, obviously, but I can’t, because the effect is considerably stronger nearer to the source, and you mustn’t. It’s too dangerous. As I said, this isn’t when you should – well, it _isn’t_ – and have at least managed to examine their programming briefly. They would destroy you instantly if you threatened their mission. Now, I can at least open this door and let you out – and then I suggest you leave. The field shouldn’t cause you any problems. It’s very specifically designed to catch _me_.”

“Thank you,” said Liz. “But, actually, I had an idea. How about you tell me what I’m looking for in the central controls – tell me exactly what to do to disable the field. And then – well, do you still feel up to staging a distraction to give me a chance to get access to it?”

A slow smile grew on his face. “Oh, I believe I could still do that, yes.”

“Right,” said Liz. “Then let’s put a stop to these wretched things before they finish me off and put you in a jar and pickle you!”

“Put me in a – _pickle_ me?” said Silver, almost gasping at the idea.

She tried not to laugh; that would be bound to hurt worse than grinning had. “Sorry. Pin you to a board and put you in a glass case like a butterfly, if you’d rather.”

“I don’t think I _would_ , thank you.”

“Come on now,” said Liz, pulling herself up and leaning on the chest of drawers, which rocked slightly, even though it hadn’t moved in the slightest under Silver’s weight. “I get to the central controls. What do I do next?”

 

Silver had, as promised, at least been able to deal with the door to the outhouse and Liz was now crouching behind a low stone wall, waiting for her moment, as Silver set about drawing the robots out. 

As she watched, Silver strolled out onto the gravel drive where the ship had landed, and sat down in front of it, laying his handkerchief on the ground and playing with several objects that seemed to have been inside it.

“The specimen has been located.” 

One of the robots came down the ramp out of the ship at a surprisingly fast rate. Liz took note of the fact: don’t dawdle, they’re speedy.

Silver glanced up as it approached him. “Ah, yes, I believe you were looking for me. Hello?”

The robot’s thin arm extended to grab at Silver, but he slipped out of reach even as Professor Stalybridge’s car suddenly revved up and, driverless, started moving towards the ship. The robot stepped between the two vehicles, not even flinching as the car crashed into it.

“I’d keep further back if I were you,” said Silver, as a second robot emerged from the ship to join its fellow.

The car’s engine began to smoke ominously.

“Not exactly my style,” said Silver, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “But that is the trouble with combustion engines, isn’t it? So difficult not to merely let them, ah, _combust_ if you’re not careful.”

The car exploded. Liz flinched back and then, recognising her cue, raced along the side of the ship towards the ramp, making her way up it more stealthily. There were apparently four of the robots, and when she had left the ship, the other two had still been out searching for Silver. She hoped that was still the case – if it wasn’t she would find soon find herself in more trouble than she cared to contemplate. They both would be.

 

Liz made her way down the narrow corridor of the ship, following the directions Silver had given her. The last door led into the heart of the computer system. Liz pressed the button to the side of it and then stood aside as it opened, tension mounting within her: would it be occupied? Were there any defensive devices Silver might have missed? He was not exactly his usual self at the moment.

The centre was empty at least, so Liz stepped inside and let the door close behind her, and turned around within the cupboard-like space, its walls lined with unfamiliar technology: flickering screens and lights and a multitude of buttons and switches, none of which made much sense to her. She always seemed to be contending with advanced alien technology these days. It didn’t do anything for her self-esteem, but that was probably all to the good for a scientist – if she could get out of this place alive.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on Silver’s instructions. “Third computer bank to the left of the door,” she said under her breath and turned, opening her eyes again. “Aha. Pull this lever down, hold the blue button for six point five seconds – well, I’ll do my best…”

She froze, midway through typing in a code. She could hear, outside the room, the metallic, even footfall of one of the robots.

“Secure the specimen,” she heard it say, and she stared down at the digital screen unseeing as she listened intently. It sounded as if it had caught Silver already. 

There was a momentary silence, broken only by a couple of thuds – the robot moving more awkwardly, and then it said: “That was unwise.” 

Liz had to bite back a nervous laugh, wondering what precisely Silver had done to it, before losing her amusement on hearing Silver cry out. She steeled herself and looked back at the numeral pad and the screen. “Right,” she said to herself, “come on, Liz. It’s up to you.”

– 6-5-7-X-4 –

She saw the screen light up briefly and then everything dimmed around her, the electronic hum dying away with it. The door beside her began sliding open and Liz could see the robot standing close by in the corridor. It hadn’t turned in her direction yet, but it soon would, or would register her presence. She swallowed and clenched her fists, waiting – there was nothing to hand she could use as a weapon.

“Alert – alert,” it was saying, its back still to her. “Power loss. Activate emergency power pack –” Then it turn, with an abruptness and speed that reminded her again how inhuman it was, before it struck her hard enough to make her see stars without even taking off.

 

“Liz?”

She gave a groan. “Go away.”

“Not yet, I think,” said Silver. “Come on, Liz.”

Liz’s last memory returned to her and she sat up too sharply. She was at least outside again, which seemed encouraging, but she wasn’t about to count her chickens yet. “Ow. Drat. I mean, what happened?”

“You switched off the power,” said Silver. “That meant I was free of the energy field, which solved nearly everything, of course. I made some adjustments to the nearest robot’s energy feed and demobilised it, but not quite in time to stop it hurting you. I do apologise for that, but it did take a moment or two to recover myself.”

Liz leant back against the stone wall. “I think I know what you mean.” Her head gave another particularly painful throb, but then subsided a little. “And then?”

“I did the same to the other robot on board and then set about erasing all information about their current mission in their individual databanks and in the computer’s. That was connected to a central computer elsewhere, so I sent a transmission out via that containing a virus – a computer virus, that is – designed specifically to erase any other copies of those files. The most difficult bit was getting you out again afterwards. I couldn’t let them take off with you on board and you wouldn’t wake up.”

Liz eyed him darkly. “ _So_ sorry to have been a nuisance, but I can’t say I much enjoy being knocked unconscious, either.” She paused, studying him, but as usual, that gave her few clues. “Are _you_ all right?”

“I am now,” he said. “It wasn’t very pleasant for a moment or two, but I don’t believe any lasting damage has been done.”

“Lucky you. I’m probably concussed, so I don’t know how I’m supposed to get out of here. Driving isn’t going to be the best plan.”

Silver beamed at her. “Oh, don’t worry. While I was sending the virus, I also transmitted a message to your friends – UNIT, I think? I expect some of them will arrive soon.”

Liz had to admit that she felt relieved at the idea. Her head was throbbing in a way that made her nauseous and she couldn’t really object to the prospect of the Doctor swooping in and taking over this once. He and the Brigadier were welcome to clear up the mess here.

“I won’t stay to say hello,” said Silver, with a humorous sideways glance at her. “But I shall wait here until they arrive. Better to be on the safe side.”

“The safe side? As opposed to?”

“Well, there is the matter of the original technical problem – and I wouldn’t want those things coming back again…”

“I just knew it’d be for some comforting reason like that.”

“Shh,” said Silver, taking her hand for a moment, and bending in to land a brief, unsentimental kiss on her temple. “I am grateful, you know. I didn’t like the idea of winding up as an exhibit at all.”

Liz looked back at him. “Much better to observe the subject in their natural environment, I always find.”

“And have you come to any conclusions?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not sure I’ve even come to a sensible starting point,” she said. “And given the kind of trouble you’re usually involved in, I’m not sure I want to try!”

“Quite right,” said Silver.


End file.
